Labor’s Shabana Mahmood Announces Stricter Asylum Rules, Faces Internal Opposition
London, November 17, 2025 – Labour Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is set to unveil meaningful changes to the UK’s asylum system on Monday, aiming to tighten rules around refugee status and family reunions, sparking immediate criticism and internal dissent within the labour party. Mahmood stated her goal is to “ensure there are legal routes into this country for those who are truly fleeing peril, and for whom this is the first safe country they have encountered.”
The proposed reforms are reportedly inspired by the Danish system, known for its restrictive approach to both refugee status and family reunification.
mahmood’s predecessor, Yvette Cooper, previously suspended new applications through a family reunion route allowing asylum seekers to bring family members to the UK. Home Office sources suggest the upcoming changes will be more impactful then previous Conservative policies.
The move comes as the UK faces record levels of asylum applications. Government figures show 111,084 people applied for asylum in the year to June 2025, and almost 40,000 have crossed the Channel in small boats seeking asylum this year alone.
While Mahmood has affirmed she will not leave the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), the proposed changes are expected to face significant legal challenges. The Conservatives have indicated potential support for the plans should Labour backbenchers rebel.
Though, the opposition is already mounting. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp dismissed the plans as “very small steps in the right direction with a few gimmicks,” advocating for “no illegal immigration whatsoever” and a “cap on legal inward migration each year,so the numbers are very,very dramatically lower.”
Several Labour MPs have voiced concerns about the potential impact on settled refugee families should thier home countries be deemed safe enough for return. Labour MP Tony Vaughan urged the government to “think again,” stating on X that the proposals represent “the wrong turning” and that “the idea that recognised refugees need to be deported is wrong.”
Stella Creasy, another Labour MP, wrote in the Guardian that maintaining refugees in a state of “perpetual limbo” for extended periods is both economically and morally damaging, arguing that addressing the root causes of displacement is crucial to stopping irregular migration.
